Food service pioneer gives back in honor of 15th anniversary of its
Farm to Fork program

October 03, 2014 06:04 AM Eastern Daylight Time

PALO ALTO, Calif.--(EON: Enhanced Online News)--Erin Johnson and Ben Doherty of Open Hands Farm in Northfield, MN,
desperately need a storage facility to hold their carrots and other root
vegetables during the winter months.Locals Seafood founders Ryan
Speckman and Lin Peterson in Raleigh, NC, long for a new refrigerated
vehicle that will let them expand their delivery routes for fresh
shellfish, crabs, and crawfish.Mark and Patricia Lovejoy
of Garden Treasures Organic Farm in Arlington, WA, have 10 large
greenhouses acquired from retiring farmers sitting in piles waiting to
be assembled to protect their plants from too much rain and extend their
growing season.

“So many of the crops we
grow require months of lead time and investment before sale, so knowing
Bon Appétit is going to utilize a certain amount is key to our success.
It allows us to concentrate on growing and packing great food for direct
delivery.”

They and seven other small farms and food businesses around the nation
will now be able to make these dreams become reality, with a
no-strings-attached “Fork to Farm” grant of $5,000 from Bon Appétit
Management Company, one of their major customers.

Bon Appétit provides “food service for a sustainable future” to
universities, corporations, and museums in 32 states. This year marks
the 15th anniversary of Bon Appétit’s way-ahead-of-its-time Farm
to Fork program. (Since 1999, all chefs at the company’s 500+ cafés
around the country have been tasked with sourcing at least 20% of their
ingredients from small, owner-operated farms within 150 miles of their
kitchens. The company now has more than 1,400 Farm to Fork registered
vendors.)

“Working with Bon Appétit has helped our business reach the next level.
The consistency and financial security provided by having a solid,
weekly outlet for our produce is nothing short of awesome for us dirt
farmers,” wrote Garden Treasures’ Mark Lovejoy. “So many of the crops we
grow require months of lead time and investment before sale, so knowing
Bon Appétit is going to utilize a certain amount is key to our success.
It allows us to concentrate on growing and packing great food for direct
delivery.”

To celebrate the Farm to Fork milestone, Bon Appétit decided to give
back to the suppliers whose hard work have allowed the company to build
its brand around offering the freshest, from-scratch food. It took the
$50,000 earmarked for as the annual gift in the name of its clients,
which usually goes to a single food-related nonprofit, and broke it into
10 small grants that will nevertheless have a big impact. Bon Appétit
teams also led four volunteer workdays at local farms.

On September 23, Bon Appétit’s 10th annual Eat Local Challenge Day, more
than 26,000 college students, corporate employees, museumgoers — after
enjoying a 100% local meal — cast their votes to determine which 10
farms out of 25 finalists would receive $5,000 to complete their
projects.

“The whole campus is excited for us. We are extremely grateful to Bon
Appétit for this grant. This is more help to us than you can imagine,”
said Kate Chandler, a professor of English and adviser to the Campus
Community Farm at St. Mary's College of Maryland. “We'll certainly send
word once we actually purchase the greenhouse and get it erected.”

Greenhouses and hoop houses, movable electric fencing and expanded
cooking capacity — the humbleness of the projects was eye-opening even
for Bon Appétit longtimers like Maisie Ganzler, Vice President of
Strategy, who helped launch the Farm to Fork program in 1999 and oversaw
this year’s grant program. “Farmers are small-business owners who
operate on razor-thin margins and face more variables than most,” said
Ganzler. “Local food is one of the last great values America seems to
have in common. I believe we have a responsibility to support our
farmers, and I’m proud that Bon Appétit is able to help these 10 farms
create efficiencies and get them more bang for their very hard work.”